Question from a full time gamer.

If your lack of energy is persistent, I would suggest you do a blood test for your iron level. It may be that you have iron deficiency (sideropenia).


Just throwing this out there as a possibility. I know I was diagnosed with it because of a mix of bodily predilection and the 'wrong' diet: Not enough meat and nuts while drinking a lot of tea: Tannin binds iron before it can enter the bloodstream.

The solution for me was to simply change my diet a bit: No tea (or coffee) at any meals, and instead of ramen more nuts, bell peppers, parsley, etc. and drink oj before and during the meals (Vit C makes it easier for the body to absorb iron).


My advice if you don't want to test would be: Drink orange juice, apple juice or any juice with Vit C, maybe with water before meals, try to eat foods with high iron concentrations (liver is another one; cheese and other dairy products hinder iron intake, as do foods with high amounts of oxal acid, calcium and magnesium).


As to the workout: As the others have said, start slowly. There is no use overexerting yourself. Know your limits. Don't be ashamed or discouraged if at the beginning, you can't manage much. We've all been there.

a few things you might find helpful:
- If you want to go jogging, consider interval training (run 100 meters, walk 50, repeat). It's a great way to boost endurance. Consider taking simple magnesium solutions after the exercise to prevent soreness. Do NOT overexert yourself. Stretch. If you taste iron in your mouth, stop immediately, lay down and angle up your knees (so the blood is concentrated in your torso and head instead of your feet). Tasting iron in your mouth means you have severely overexerted.
- Personally, I have two dumbbells to the left and right of my desk. Whenever there is a loading screen, a cut scene or any break in gameplay, I do exercises with them. Or I might put on a film or watch a TV series and do some push-ups while watching.
- A further note on dumbbells: On most of them, you can add and subtract weights. This has a reason. If the initial weight (on mine that would be 6kg/dumbbell) is too much for you, consider removing all weights for a time. The handle itself weighs something (mine weigh 2kg), and at the very beginning, it's more important to get your muscles used to the strain, anyway. There is no shame in not being able to stem a full dumbbell a number of times. And repetition is key with dumbbells. I'd rather stem 6kg a 100 times than 12kg 15 times.
- Keep in mind that there are different body types. If you're lanky (ectomorph) from the beginning, you probably never will look like a bodybuilder. So don't get frustrated if you don't see the muscle buildup you would like to see. I am an endomorph, for example. I will never have a nicely V-shaped upper body. I will always look rather bulky.
- Consider your dietary needs for muscle buildup. They may clash with iron intake, as milk/eggs are some of the prime foods to take after working out if you want to build up muscle. Btw. nuts are fine in that regard. Go nuts!

Squats and oats

Thanks for the great answers everyone, I knew posting here was a smart idea!

Question about working out though, can you work out at night or what time of day best to work out at? (I wake up at 11am)

I almost forgot an important thing about keeping your energy levels high. At least a few times during the day, make an effort to either go outside or sit next to a window with the blinds open and soak in some sun. It makes a world of difference, both in removing the day-to-day monotony (which is 100x worse if you have a horribly late natural sleep cycle like myself) and signals your body to create vitamin D.

The hardest part is always going to be convincing yourself that you're not wasting your time (that could be spent playing games or doing wtfever) when you make a meal that takes 10 minutes instead of one that takes 2 minutes to cook, or when you go for a short walk, or when you relax in the sun.

Nobody can really help with that, sadly. Which is why I say look for natural breaks to do those things, since 10 minutes isn't exactly breaking the bank when 5 minutes of that is afk traveling.

Pneuma mentions an important fact: Sunshine greatly improves your intake of Vitamin D. Secondly, studies suggest that food processed late in the day is immediately converted to body fat (instead of expendable energy).

I don't know of any factor that says it's actively detrimental to exercise in the night, but I would say that it is more effective and beneficial to exercise during the day, and use the nights to recuperate. As someone stated, rest periods are important for muscle growth.

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ragecity wrote:

Thanks for the great answers everyone, I knew posting here was a smart idea!

Question about working out though, can you work out at night or what time of day best to work out at? (I wake up at 11am)

I find it best to workout in the morning. Wake up, drink a pre-work out shake, wait 30-60 minutes so you don't cramp up, do your work out. You'll have your metabolism jump started and your endorphins firing, setting you up for a feel good day.

It's also easier for me to work out in the morning, otherwise I end up procrastinating and working out right before bed. Working out right before bed is the worst, my body has already used up my energy for the day (plus I'm tired), so completing the workout is much harder.

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ragecity wrote:

I play games like PoE, Tera, Wow, Lineage 2, Sc2, Dota2, LoL and more all day everyday and it has occurred to me that I am really out of shape. (skinny as hell, no muscle)

My question is, could someone explain a good workout plan for a 18 year old male that is skin and bones? I feel so out of shape and groggy sometimes, I wish I knew how to formulate my own workout plan but I have never been told how.

Thx, sorry if this is a dumb thing to ask but I figure someones gotta know.

Eating proper is the first and most important thing. Make sure you get enough h20. You should notice a pretty big difference.

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ragecity wrote:

Thanks for the great answers everyone, I knew posting here was a smart idea!

Question about working out though, can you work out at night or what time of day best to work out at? (I wake up at 11am)

I've been working out for a few years, I'm by no means an expert. But I find working out either right away in the morning, or 3/4 of the way through your average day, feels the best. As for scientific facts on which part of the day to workout, I've never seen actual convincing evidence as to when is better. Just use common sense, don't workout when you're tired/exhausted (this can result in injury!)(and no this doesn't include mornings, as long as you slept long enough you're not actually tired ^_^). If you keep a regular schedule with working out, you'll begin to look forward to it, make sure you keep track of your stats. Going to the gym can be like a real life game, except progress is really really slow, but still there. Enjoy

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Zupan wrote:

I've been working out for a few years, I'm by no means an expert. But I find working out either right away in the morning, or 3/4 of the way through your average day, feels the best. As for scientific facts on which part of the day to workout, I've never seen actual convincing evidence as to when is better. Just use common sense, don't workout when you're tired/exhausted (this can result in injury!)(and no this doesn't include mornings, as long as you slept long enough you're not actually tired ^_^). If you keep a regular schedule with working out, you'll begin to look forward to it, make sure you keep track of your stats. Going to the gym can be like a real life game, except progress is really really slow, but still there. Enjoy

Since the OP doesn't want to lose weight, then he should probably work out in the evenings. Working out in the Mornings, and eating in the mornings too! gets your body working and your metabolism will skyrocket and stay at a healthy point all throughout the day. Being lethargic in the morning will decrease your metabolism.